Raisin cleaner and capper



Patented Mar. 3, 1925.

UNITED STATES PAT-ENT torri-cie'.

DAVID WILLIAM RIPLEY, er1-FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, AssIGNoR y'ro sUN-MAIIi nAIsIN.

enownns AssoCIA'rIoNmF FRESNO, CALIFORNIA,

vTRAISIN CIIENER` AND CAPPER.

Application ledMay 8,

y T all whom l? may concern.' y

CII

80 ered with screen wire mesh.

Be it known that I, DAVID IVILLIAM Rrr- LnY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Fresno, in the county of Fresno and the State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Raisin Cleaners and Cappers, of which the following is a specification. .i

My invention relates to a machine for washing, cleaning and` cappingl raisins.

In the art as now practiced inv taking the cap stems off of raisins it is usual'to make them bone dry and then apply friction which breaks the capl stems `off. ,'Raisins which are soft and cling together `enmasse are incapable of beingk properly capped orv The object lofl washed by the existing artmy invention is to wash, cap and dry raisins .in one operation. Other objects will. be hereinafter set forth.

- I accomplish these .objects lbymeans ofthe device hereinafter described and'illustra'ted o-n the accompanying drawing, `.in Vwhich Figure 1 is aside view of the washing and capping device. Figure 2 shows atopfrac-` tional view of the concave screen, thescreen 'Y rollerand-a screen. In said-drawing I have shown a rigid frame 3, in which I have suspended a cylinder 4, which cylinder is covi A hollow shaft 5, is attached at two opposite ends of frame 3, on an incline. Journals and bearings 6 and 7 are adapted to carry the cylinder so it can rotate around the hollow shaft. Stops or thrust bearings 8 and 9 are attached to shaft 5 to keep the cylinder on the bearings G and 7. It is here noted that while I have shown a cylinder (4) of uniform diameter and positioned on an incline to a horizontalV line. the samel resultsmay be accomplished by using a conical cylinder and setting the axis on a horizontal line as the object I wish to accomplish by this construction is that raisins deposited in the higher end of the cylinder will gravitate to the other end as the cylinder is rotated. The cylinder shown in the drawing is rotated by means of a motor 10, driving a cog wheel 11, attached to the end of the cylinder. Any other equivalent driving or rotating mechanism may be substituted. The funnel 13 attached to the frame is adapted to direct the flow of the raisins into the cylinder. It is here noted that both ends of the cylinder are open, the upper end v,forreceiving the raisins spray tothe bottom of the cylinder.

`1924. Serial No. 711,817.

and the opposite end for discharging them.

Shafty 5 is hollow for the purpose of intro-V der is to indicate a mass of raisins in the bot- Vr I tom of the cylinder and thelines 17 extending-from the nozzles indicate the water spray. Under the cylinder-is a fixed screen 20, the `base of whichfdescribes azplurality of cylindrical concavities 21,positioned with the cups upward. In each concavity, and

concentric therewith,fis a--rotata'ble screen covered cylinder which rotates inthe .direction 'shown by arrows 23, the object v'being to roll the raisins between't-he fixed screen 2O `.and the screen cylinders.- `VThe cylinders-in the drawing are krotated by mea-ns of ythe motor 25-,1and a beltorfchain'26 whichrotates the plurality of cylinders simultaneously. Vders 22 and the xed screen20 Jare suspended from beams 27-'whichhincline-at approximately the same angle frointhe-perpendicuv lar as the incline of the under part of cylinvder 4. While I have shown the assembly of n i rotatable screens and concave screens directly under the large cylinder 4, this arrangement is to conserve space only, as they may be positioned for the sameI purpose elsewhere.

At the lower end of the concave screen is an ordinary shaker screen 28, to which is imparted a shaking movement when the Ldevice is in operation, by means of a connecting rod 29, pivoted to the shaker at one end and at the other end `to an eccentric 30, on one of the screen rollers. A pan 40 adapted to catch the water which passes through vthe screen cylinde-r 4, is attached .under said cylinder, and lthe water thus drained is emptied ata spout 41. The spokes 18 and 19 are intended to connect the hubs 6a and 7a of bearings 6 and 7 with the inside surface of the large cylindrical screen.

In operating this device, the raisins, which may be dry, moist, separated or en masse, are placed in .the inte-rior of cylinder 4,r where they are agitated by being rolled over the interior screen surface of cylinder 4 as it is rotated, and while thus agitated a spray The'drawin'g shows that-the cylinof water is showered on the raisins which washes them and tends to dissolve the masses so that the raisins are separated. The water thus used runs through the screen and is drained off. Vhen the raisins reach the lower end of the screen they are dropped to the sheet screen 2O where they are fed between the concave screens and the screen rollers. This creates a friction which removes tlie cap stems. The screen rollers rotate rapidly enough to give the raisins a centrifugal motion which, with the agitation further drys them. It is here noted that the space between the perimeter of the roller and the inside of the concave screen can be adjusted, and while four concavities and corresponding rollers are shown on the drawing` the number can be varied. The raisins are then passed over the shaker 28 which functions to further dry them and to separate Vthem from small loose particles which may have adhered through the preceding operations. Experiments have shown that the operation as thus conducted washes the raisins and while moist or wet the cap stems are readily removed. rIhe screens for covering drums, rollers and for other uses herein described, may be wire mesh, perforated sheets of metal in which the perforations are smooth or rough or other equivalent of a screen. It is specifically herein noted that for the screens described, roughened surfaces can be substituted.

Having described my invention I claim as new and asl; for Letters Patent:

l. In a device of the character described, the combination of moist means for separating masses of raisins into individual raisins in combination with a roller having a roughened periphery and al pan having a concavity therein approximately concentric with the roller, and means for feeding the integra-l moist raisins between the roller and the conca-ve portion of the pan, substantially as described.

2. In a. device of the character described, the combination of means for washing raisins, two roughened surfaces spaced apart, and means for passing the raisins while w t between said two roughened surfaces, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the character described, mea-ns for washin raisins in combination with two screen surfaces constructed and adapted so that one will move al spaced distance from the other, and means for feeding` raisins while wet between said surfaces, substantially as described.

et. In a device for removingl cap stems from moist and wet raisins, the combination of screens arranged so the faces thereof' are a spaced distance apart, and means for moving one of said surfaces, means for washing' the raisins, and means for feeding the moist and wet raisins between said surfaces,

5. A roller having a wire screened outer surface, a pan having a concavity therein formed of wire screen and positioned concentric with the roller a spaced distance from the inside surface of the conc-avity, means for rotating the roller means for moistening and washing raisins and means for feeding the moist raisins between the roller and the cancavity in the pan.

DAVID VILLIAM RIPLEY. 

